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TV Networks See Key Audience Erode

Season Ends With High Viewership for Finales but Overall Trend Shows Decline in 18-49 Group

Updated May 27, 2011 12:01 a.m. ET

Fewer young people watched TV on traditional sets over the past television season, the second consecutive year of decline as viewers face a proliferation of ways to watch TV shows.

U.S. TV networks marked the official end of the TV season on Wednesday with a flurry of widely viewed send-offs, including the last episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and the season finale of "American Idol." But those big programs are...